As the father of four children, I have spent many hours in various East York parks that have playground equipment. During this year’s March break, I am going to revisit one each day and make a post of some of the nature that I find there.

Leaside Park has a baseball diamond, a swimming pool and soccer pitches.

The south border of it is the Don Valley which is lined with a good variety of trees. I once saw a Great Horned Owl here while attending one of my children’s games.

The most common tree is Red Oak.

The bark has shiny, reddish patches.

The leaves are pointed.

White Oaks are also found here.

Here is the bark

and the rounded leaves.

Others trees found in the wooded area include Sugar Maple;

American Beech;

Black Cherry with its “burnt cornflakes” bark;

Bitternut Hickory

with its yellow buds;

Hop Hornbeam;

White Elm;

Basswood with its red buds;

Manitoba Maple with its white buds;

and European Buckthorn (still holding on to some black berries).

  

Some of the trees planted in the park include White Spruce;

Thornless Honey Locust;

Norway Maple;

Here you can see the stems which held the keys.

Here are keys on the ground.

White Mulberries plant themselves.

Here are the seed pods of Catalpa.

 

Miles Hearn